has anyone else realized this?
04-10-2003, 09:53 PM
#12
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There is a very good reason that there are few convertible roadsters out there compared with the number of other vehicles. I would say that you have had the experience and now know the downside as well as the upside of such a vehicle.
I would have loved having the car in my early 20's when I rode a motorcycle. I would have far fewer scars on my elbows and knees today, but possibly I would have gotten myself into just as much trouble.
At age 26, I had the option of buying for $4000 a family friend's red 356 SC with a sunroof and black leather seats. (He had picked it up at the Porsche factory and it had been treated the way I now treat my S2000.) Instead, I went for some practicality and bought a new 2002tii BMW, a car that, at the time, was pretty hot stuff and was almost unknown in the US outside of the automotive enthusiast community. (Trivia: the Germans called the engine "sparkplug eater" because it needed new plugs every 4,000 miles. It needed its head torqued and valves adjusted just as often.) I drove that car at 110% for six years including much autocrossing, put on 150,000 miles, and at the end it consumed a quart of 50-wt. Castrol every 80 miles, mainly from worn valve guides. (Yes, that an awful lot of blue smoke when you lift your foot.) I sold it for asking price, $4,000--paid in 40 $100 bills, to a guy who told me he only needed it for one trip and that trunk size and speed were his only concerns. (I asked no questions about his line of work.) I gave him back a $10 bill, told him to buy a case of the proper oil, and to add two quarts when he stopped for gas. I do wonder where that car went on its last trip.
From then on, it was 24 years of ho-hum sedans and one minivan and daily commuting on LA's freeways forced me into cars with automatics in the middle of that era. Now I drive the S2000 everywhere I can and also do the 2x4 routine with it, despite having a perfectly good CR-V available. The top is only up for parking, for rain, or for the occasional too-hot-to-stand-it day in LA.
The point of my shaggy dog story is that you may well decide to buy another sports car at another time in your life when what it offers is much more important to you than practicality or a smooth ride. Know that you will thoroughly love it and wonder how you did without it for so long.
I would have loved having the car in my early 20's when I rode a motorcycle. I would have far fewer scars on my elbows and knees today, but possibly I would have gotten myself into just as much trouble.
At age 26, I had the option of buying for $4000 a family friend's red 356 SC with a sunroof and black leather seats. (He had picked it up at the Porsche factory and it had been treated the way I now treat my S2000.) Instead, I went for some practicality and bought a new 2002tii BMW, a car that, at the time, was pretty hot stuff and was almost unknown in the US outside of the automotive enthusiast community. (Trivia: the Germans called the engine "sparkplug eater" because it needed new plugs every 4,000 miles. It needed its head torqued and valves adjusted just as often.) I drove that car at 110% for six years including much autocrossing, put on 150,000 miles, and at the end it consumed a quart of 50-wt. Castrol every 80 miles, mainly from worn valve guides. (Yes, that an awful lot of blue smoke when you lift your foot.) I sold it for asking price, $4,000--paid in 40 $100 bills, to a guy who told me he only needed it for one trip and that trunk size and speed were his only concerns. (I asked no questions about his line of work.) I gave him back a $10 bill, told him to buy a case of the proper oil, and to add two quarts when he stopped for gas. I do wonder where that car went on its last trip.
From then on, it was 24 years of ho-hum sedans and one minivan and daily commuting on LA's freeways forced me into cars with automatics in the middle of that era. Now I drive the S2000 everywhere I can and also do the 2x4 routine with it, despite having a perfectly good CR-V available. The top is only up for parking, for rain, or for the occasional too-hot-to-stand-it day in LA.
The point of my shaggy dog story is that you may well decide to buy another sports car at another time in your life when what it offers is much more important to you than practicality or a smooth ride. Know that you will thoroughly love it and wonder how you did without it for so long.
04-11-2003, 02:42 AM
#15
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The S2000 never has been, nor ever claimed to be, the car for everyone.
Its a two-seat, convertible roadster with a really tight suspension. Get behind its wheel, test drive it, feel the road under your wheels, and understand thats the way its going to feel everytime you drive it. Anyone who buys one thinking or expecting otherwise hasn't really given sufficient thought to the purchase. I see far too many posts on this board from people asking current owners to convince them that the S2000 is car that they should buy too.
Folks, if you can't come to that conclusion by yourself, then you probably should buy another automobile.
I bought mine to be my daily driver and I haven't regretted that decision at all.
Its a two-seat, convertible roadster with a really tight suspension. Get behind its wheel, test drive it, feel the road under your wheels, and understand thats the way its going to feel everytime you drive it. Anyone who buys one thinking or expecting otherwise hasn't really given sufficient thought to the purchase. I see far too many posts on this board from people asking current owners to convince them that the S2000 is car that they should buy too.
Folks, if you can't come to that conclusion by yourself, then you probably should buy another automobile.
I bought mine to be my daily driver and I haven't regretted that decision at all.
04-11-2003, 04:40 AM
#16
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Originally posted by Crabby Guy
At age 26, I had the option of buying for $4000 a family friend's red 356 SC with a sunroof and black leather seats.
At age 26, I had the option of buying for $4000 a family friend's red 356 SC with a sunroof and black leather seats.
04-11-2003, 06:15 AM
#19
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Before the S I had a 98' prelude SH and a 97 CBR 600 F3 Smokin' Joes. I loved both vehicles but when I saw the S I thought hey, I could combine the two vehicles and get the best of both worlds.
Prelude+SportBike= 9000 RPM canyon carvin' wind in your hair and the saftey of 4 wheels! You just can't beat that.
Prelude+SportBike= 9000 RPM canyon carvin' wind in your hair and the saftey of 4 wheels! You just can't beat that.
04-11-2003, 06:17 AM
#20
Originally posted by KW-AP1
Why is your car parked so far away???
Why is your car parked so far away???
The lot is the closest safe-haven for my baby! BUT worth it!